Two athletes from the women’s golf team received All-American status with their extraordinary performance both on the course and in the classroom.

Earlier this week, Alisha Matthews, a junior studying recreation, and Ashleigh Rushing, a freshman studying English-education, were nominated to the National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team. It was the first time the team had two student athletes receive the honor since the 2004-05 season. Across the nation, 566 collegiate women golfers were recognized in achieving the scholar team status.

Rushing, who finished her freshman year with a 3.56 GPA, said she is humbled to be recognized for the honor and didn’t expect to receive such a prestigious award. She said coaches put an emphasis on the importance to get the most out of their education and they help with the students’ success in the classroom.

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“It’s really important to me because the coaches stress how important grades are and that we’re going to school to get an education, not to play golf,” Rushing said. “I don’t like to let people down, so this was really important to me.”

She said the award was a boost to her attitude as a student athlete and created motivation for her to succeed in the three years she has left at the university.

Diane Daugherty, the 2011 women’s golf coach who recently retired after coaching for 25 years, said she is proud of both Matthews and Rushing, and the whole team, as they had a team GPA of 3.57. Of all collegiate sports to receive the scholar honor, Daughtery said the NGCA was the top of the list.

Daugherty has a “life pyramid” she uses for her athletes to prioritize, and of the four things on the list, golf is at the bottom. She said it is fulfilling for both her and the athletes, and proves it is possible for them to have success on the course and with their education.

“It’s a challenge to be gone as many days and miss as many classes as we do, and to maintain that high of a grade point average,” Daugherty said. “As a coach it’s very rewarding and I’m very proud of them.”

Matthews, who received this award in 2010, said it means a lot to her because she worked hard to earn the grades she received throughout the year. She said it can be a tough balancing act to be a student-athlete.

To be successful as a university athlete, Matthews said it is important to maintain a strict schedule, have everything planned out and make the most of time management. Throughout her Saluki career, Matthews has maintained a 3.727 GPA.

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“I know that if I have to play one weekend and I know I’m going to be out there all day, I need to get my work done,” Matthews said. “When I get home from the golf course, I’m not going to want to be writing a paper or anything with school.”

As she heads into her senior year at SIU,  Matthews said the award has given her more confidence as an athlete and more confidence in her future.

“Being able to use my time management and balance all of the things in my life while I’m down at school, it means a lot that I actually succeeded at it,” Matthews said.